EAST LANSING– No. 7 Michigan State men’s basketball opens Big Ten play against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, while also bringing a classic look back at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans climbed five spots in the most recent AP Poll after a successful Feast Week trip to Fort Myers, where the Green and White compiled two convincing wins over East Carolina and then No. 16 North Carolina.
On Monday evening, the Spartans’ teased they will have a new jersey into the cycle, bringing back a nostalgic look from the mid-2000s, honoring the first Nike jerseys from 25 years ago.
No longer will MSU be haunted by the squads of Fran McCaffery, as the Hawkeyes are in the first year of a new coaching regime, with Ben McCullom at the helm. McCullom, the 23rd head coach in program history, had success everywhere he has coached, including a Missouri Valley Championship in his lone season at Drake in 2024-25.
Only in his second year of Division I coaching, McCullom has the Hawkeyes out to a 7-0 start and has received outstanding production from senior guard Bennett Stiriz. The 6-foot-4 sharpshooter leads the Hawkeyes with 18 points per game and turned in a 29-point performance to outlast Ole Miss last week.
MSU has been able to slow down opposing guards this season, which was key in its wins over Arkansas and Kentucky.
Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. leads the team with 1.7 steals per game as the top point of attack defender. Two-guards Kur Teng and Trey Fort continue to show signs of improvement on the defensive end as the season rolls on.
This game is the first step in the Spartans’ defense of their reign as Big Ten Champions. Last season, MSU had a 17-3 record and won the conference by a three-game margin.
Thanksgiving wasn’t the only national holiday that took place this week. For the college basketball die-hards, Monday marked the highly-anticipated release of the first NET Rankings for 2025-26 season, MSU landed at No. 10 in the country.
The Spartans must be wary of Iowa, before flipping the page to the marquee matchup against No. 4 Duke on Saturday.
The Spartans quest for an 8-0 start begins with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Breslin Center on Tuesday. Catch the Impact 89 FM broadcast with Joe Dez and Jack Stager on the call here: https://impact89fm.org/?radio_player=3&index=0
